Welcome to Grooseland
by RenMacKree
Summary: Groose wakes up from some horrible nightmares.


_I do not own the Legend of Zelda, but I freaking love it to death so I wrote this small little piece in honor of my favorite character (next to Link, of course) Groose! He is my little lover, and I love shipping him with my Link! So, um. I think there isn't really much in here, I might have a little yaoi but nothing to explicit. Weird, I know. Well, enjoy._

_**Welcome to Grooseland**_

_The big race was two weeks away. In two weeks he would prove himself good enough. Two weeks... two weeks..._ _two weeks...FILTHY RED-CHILD!_

Groose woke from his nightmare, sweat covering his body and short on breath. He hated this feeling, this... urge and burning to prove himself in front of _them_. Why didn't they notice him? Was it because they were... no, he couldn't pull himself to think about that. Just because Link and Zelda were always together didn't mean... he wasn't too late... he didn't want to have this... this... _unrequited_ _love_.

He paused. Was it love? He stood up and stretched, cracking his neck a few times before grabbing his towel and soap. A nice bath could calm him and right now calm was all he could ask for. He quietly ran up the stairs, tiptoed past the rooms, and slammed the bath door. With a flick of his wrist, he locked the door and sank to the floor. Hot tears were spreading down his cheeks silently, he didn't want to be a disappointment anymore. He couldn't be a disappointment anymore. He wouldn't. Groose stood, silently mopping away the tears from his face.

"From now on, Groose will be number one!" He turned the corner and saw... "Link!" The blonde pulled a hot towel from his face and raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side.

"Hey." He pulled the towel back on and sunk deeper into the water, ignoring the tall red-head. Groose gritted his teeth, fingernails digging into his palms. Why was _he_ so special? Why did Link ignore him like he was a useless piece of paper? What made the scrawny blonde better than all the other people in Skyloft? The red-head grunted back and slipped into the water, the steam making his face fill with color. He closed his eyes and let the hot water calm him, slowly rocking him into a comforting lull...

_Why would anyone want you? Get out, GET OUT! FILTHY RED-CHILD! I should have killed you the moment I saw your ugly hair! __**Slap**__. __Mommy, let go of my hair! It hurts...__**Kick**__. __Mommy, don't you love me__? __**Rip**__. __Mommy, don't you love me__? __**Burn**__, __Don't you love me__? __**Tap**__. _

"DON'T YOU LOVE ME?" Groose sat up, tears falling fast, gripping the form in front of him tightly.

"Groose..." Link folded his arms around him, gently stroking his hair. "What's wrong Groose?" The tears wouldn't stop, wouldn't cease, wouldn't leave him the hell alone. Yet he didn't care, didn't mind that his guard was down, just... _loved_ this feeling of being held. He imagined this is what being loved felt like and let himself feel this lost and forgotten emotion, just for a moment.. He wrapped his arms tighter around the boy and buried his face into the soft flesh of Link's chest.

"I'm having nightmares. I can't sleep, can't eat, can't..." Link just stood in silence, running his fingers through Groose's damp hair, listening to the bigger boy speak.

"I don't... I feel... I'm..." He paused, gathering the strength to say what he wanted. "I'm not... enough to be noticed by h..." Groose stopped, Link's fingers began gripping his hair tightly, his pulse quickening. Groose bit back the tears, but it was all too much. He sobbed loudly into Link's chest, fingers gripping his shoulders tightly.

"Do you think sleeping with someone will help?" Link asked slowly, his fingers resuming their playful stroking through the red hair. Groose looked up, his golden eyes still dripping tears.

"You mean a teddy bear?" Link chuckled softly and brushed away a stray tear.

"No, someone real. Someone like..."

"You." Groose hid his face, heat spreading across it that would have made his hair envious of the color. He didn't mean to say that. _Or did I?_ He shook his head and took a deep sigh.

"If you would like to sleep in my bed, that's ok. I have to study for a test tomorrow." Link stood up, offering his hand to Groose. "Come on, the water's cold now anyways." The red-head scanned the body in front of him; lean muscle from sword practice and flying, scars from childhood adventures, flesh rosy from the hot water, and a towel wrapped around the waist. He gulped.

"I'm naked." he said plainly, covering himself as much as he could. His face flushed once again and he silently wished he could melt into the water and forget this whole thing happened. Link laughed softly, handing him a towel and wrapping one around himself.

"Don't worry, I am too. Just get changed in your room and meet me in mine. The door should be unlocked." He walked out of the bathroom, leaving Groose alone with his thoughts and the lingering steam. Groose quickly dried off and made his way back to his bedroom, he could hear Cawlin and Strich snoring from across the wall and felt a pang of jealousy. While he did get a bigger room, he would have rather shared it with someone, even if it meant less time to work out. He quickly got dressed and made his way over to Link's room, knocking once before slowly opening the door. Link sat at his desk, hunched over a large book and completely unaware that Groose had entered. The blonde was wearing a small bathrobe that hung open slightly and flapped in the wind from the open window. Groose couldn't help but stare at the lean legs that poked out from underneath the terry cloth, wishing he could touch the smooth skin that seemed so inviting.

"Come in, Groose. I don't want you to feel unwelcome." Link turned around and ushered him in, smiling a little as he did. The red-head gingerly walked in, closing the door quietly and stood awkwardly in the middle. Link laughed again and stood up, taking Groose by the hand and sitting him down on the bed.

"Now go to sleep, I'll probably wake you up when I crawl in so I'm sorry." Groose nodded and settled himself into the bed, curling up in the blankets.

"Thank you, Link." He murmured as he felt his body drifting off to sleep. He didn't know how long he had slept before Link crawled in next to him, it was probably only an hour but it felt nice. The warm legs of Link pressed against his as they both squeezed onto the small bed. Finally they were comfortable and Groose could think about how wonderful this felt.

"I like the color of your hair. It reminds me of my Loftwing..." Link muttered as he brushed his fingers through the soft hair. Groose smiled to himself, happy to be wanted and happy to be cared for.

"You know, after this we will have to go back to the way we were. No one should know..." Groose whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around Link.

"Shhh, don't worry Groose. Just for tonight, let this be your own little slice of paradise. Let this be Grooseland." Link smiled into the boy's shoulder and fell asleep. Groose lay awake for a few moments longer, thinking about what Link had said. _Grooseland._ _This is my Grooseland._ He kissed the blonde on the top of the head and fell asleep.


End file.
